We are living at the bottom of one of the foundation hills of Valparaíso. The center (plan) is only some steps away. The inhabitants complain about security, but the fear is a lot bigger than the actual threat. Still it is not good to show around your valuable objects in the city and you should take security advises seriously.
We do not have an extra key for visitors and we do always coordinate, so that nobody has to wait outside the house. Until now this has worked out good.

The port blocks the access to the pacific. Still there is a path for jogging north and south where you can get to the water. The city is very interesting and every time you walk around you will have cool views on the hills and the sea.
In Valparaíso there are more and more grass root projects on the different hills. Each one of them appears because of certain needs of the people and some of them can be visited.

We are restoring our wood and clay house in Valparaíso for some years now. It was necessary to take apart a part of the house and rebuild it. On the third level we build an additional room. So finally the structure of the house is ok. Now our working rhythm has changed. There is a lot of work on details in the house missing and also some details on the facade.
In the beginning the house was a ruin, than just the structure and now it’s quite ok, but you should not expect a perfectly restored house. A lot of details have not been finished and you will see it.
For refinishing of the interior there is no financing we are using leftovers of the construction the best we can and a lot of creativity. We have almost used all the clay we had, so there is just enough for some details.
We are living in this construction for several years and little by little we are taking over the new areas. Usually in Valparaíso it is only raining some days in the wintertime so there is a lot of dust in the city and in the house. Also we are producing sawdust while working with the wood. And we have two cats in the house and lots of tomcats in the garden waiting for the ladies. I am so sorry, but if you are a person suffering from allergies I am afraid this is not the right option for you. I am asking everybody to help us make the house cleaner than it is, dust is all around and the windows also need a cleaning hand.

This is a family project and not a hostel. The rhythm of our lives is focused on school and work, so we do get up early in the morning and there is no party at night. We an nonsmokers and usually we do not drink alcohol. Usually we do eat vegan food, and this means no animal products, not even milk products and eggs. Being vegan is not a religion for us, but yes it improves the quality of live. So we expect you choose this project knowing that there is no place for animal products, alcohol and cigarets

The city of Valparaíso is very interesting and night live too. If you are especially looking forward to enjoying night live in Valparaíso you should choose a different project.

We are having a hard time getting into bed at night, the house is badly soundproofed and there are almost no doors in the interior, so it is not a good place for visitors looking forward to party a lot. This is NOT a hostel and in the morning there is school and work waiting.

We do not have a fixed rhythm to work and this means some energy to make days be efficient.
With many workawayers it has worked out very well to have breakfast together at nine, than work for five hours and have lunch together. And yes we are flexible, so that we can organize time so that you can visit the city. I expect you to be fair and count the working time on your own. I do not prohibit you to work more than five hours a day, as I do myself, but I am not expecting it. Still I want to make clear that conversation time is not working time. We could chat without getting to work, starting with the breakfast.
I am happy to buy fruit and vegetables and cook for all of us so that we can eat together, but I do expect you to do is to help wash the dishes and clean the house. There is no room service and no personal for cleaning, and while working we do produce dirt too.

We will choose the work according to your skills and our needs. I will explain every task and how the tools work. I need you to be independent so that I can concentrate on other issues. It can be that I have to do some other job in the house, kitchen, garden, computer or go shopping on the market. It is important that you are able to complete tasks on your own. Still you should ask me if you have any questions or doubts, also about the tooles to be used. We do not have a perfect workspace, so we always have to improvise. Still it is me who knows the materials and tools we have.

If you figure out that you do not like the project or Valparaíso, I ask you to be fair and talk about it in a nice way. We receive you in our private place and family home and wish every body to be happy, meaning you and us too. So this also means to me able to talk about problems or doubts and misunderstandings and say goodbye personally.

It takes some time to cope with everything. We have had visitors for some days or a week and had to realize that it is very difficult to find tasks for such a short period. That is the reason why we prefer people to stay for several weeks. So you will have a chance to cope with our chaos. With a bit more time you can not only start a task, but also finish some work and that is a lot more fun for you too. Also we will have a chance to get to know each other better and you will get to know the city better.

Type of help

BuildingGeneral MaintenanceHelp in the house

Help

We are no construction firm, so we do not have a determined time to work and coordinate the time so it is the most efficient for restoring the house and getting to know the city.
We will always coordinate the volunteering according to your knowledge and our needs.

tasks:,
- in the first level we want to have a bigger bathroom and first of all we need the prepare and install tiles, some water
conections and a divicion for the wc.
- the staircase does not have a railing
- some inside walls need clay and painting,
- the solar collector (warm water) needs to be placed somewhere
else, so we need to make new connections of the copper pipes,
- there is one more platform to be build in one of the rooms with a
small bathroom and kitchen. Of course this means some plumbing
so that everything will work,
- wooden leftovers are used to build little shelves,
- slowly we are improving the lighting with LED.

What else ...

If you are interested you can volunteer on a social project of our neighborhood.
We support the library of our neighborhood.
Possibly there will be more than one activity at the garden we implemented for neighbors.
And the basketball club is very happy about volunteers.
Sometimes we can contact you with other neighbors, when they need help.

How many Workawayers can stay?

Hours expected

Thank you for spending four weeks of your trip at our place and contributing to the improvement of some spaces. It has been a very nice and all together we got some really really good jobs done. I am happy with the results. Thank you very much.
I hope you will continue having a nice trip and find cool workaway places to stay. And hopefully you… read more will go on having luck with the chance of participating on cultural activities.

Natalie and her family were our first workaway stay and we really had a wonderful two weeks staying with them! :)

Natalie made sure to give us work that suited our abilities and always explained how things were done. Because of this, the work was always fun and we definitely learned a lot.
She did a great job coordinating the work and made sure… read more we had enough time to explore Valparaíso. She gave us a lot of useful recommendations for what we could do in our free time and she and her family took us to a great free movie/cycling event in the city. We enjoyed having fantastic home cooked vegan meals with the family while talking to them and learning plenty of new things, especially about Chile and Valparaíso.

Thank you Natalie, Guillermo and Rayen for being such great hosts and letting us be a part of your extraordinary project! Muchas gracias! We wish you all the best and hope to see you again in either Chile or Germany! :)

(Excellent
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30/04/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Lea & Jana)

Dear Lea & Jana.
The days you spent here have been very nice and easy going. Really you did a great job putting the last tiles in kitchen and bathroom. It took a bit of patience to place them in right position and angle and I would say the result is perfect. You painted a very nice mandala in our guest room. Thank you very much. And thank you very… read more much for the good vibration you left in the place. I do enjoy it every day.
It is always wonderful to see you again. So I hope you will go on coming back to Valparaíso. And maybe some time you manage to stay for a little longer. I wish you good luck traveling and a lot of wonderful workaway experiences. My best recommendations and best wishes.

(Excellent
)

10/04/2018

Left by Workawayer (Lea & Jana) for host

Natalie's family house was our first workawayplace and the time there was just great. Because we already had diffrent plans, we sadly spend only one week there, but could have stayed for a year or longer.
We learned a lot from Natalie!
Not only concidering the work but also a lot of other things like for example how to prepare an amazing vegan… read more ice cream!
We were able to divide up our working hours by ourselves, and take a break whenever we wanted. The work was mostly fun and every day we got super tasty and fresh prepared, mostly vegan food. And as well we got a look in where to buy the cheapest and nevertheless fresh and healthy food in Valparaíso.
Natalie is an inspiring woman from whom we could take a lot. Since the first evening with her we felt home, and were sad when after a week this time was over so fast. But surely we can say that as soon as with have the possibility we will come back to this all in all just lovely place.

At the end we were proud of what we did. Mostly because we could not imagine that we were able to do things like that.
So, if you got a chance to work and live in this lovely family just do it!
Thank you for everything Natalie aka our chliean Mum!
Lots of love
Lea & Jana

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

26/04/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Patrick & Kirsten)

Dear Kirsten and Patrick.
Thank you very much for your time and energy. I have enjoyed these two weeks you spent at our house very much and I do hope we will meet somewhere, sometime.
Thank you for the light you brought to the room. Bright. I enjoy it every day. And thank you for your patients with the clay. It is a bit tricky.
I hope you will… read more have many more wonderful experiences. My best wishes and recommendations.

(Excellent
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03/11/2017

Left by Workawayer (Patrick & Kirsten) for host

We stayed at Natalie's house for 2 weeks and had a really wonderful time with her lovely family. There is always sth to do and work on and Natalie is patient to teach you whatever is needed (or not :-) ). Even though working with Adobe wasnt always easy, it taught us patience :-) .
You are served with great food and a lot oft help when… read more experiencing Valparaiso.
We still remember the time in the house and are very grateful for all her input, atmosphere and the energy she shared with us.
Thank you very much and keep on going ! :-)

Hopefully we meet again in Berlin or again in Valparaiso.

Best regards
Kirsten and Patrick

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

29/10/2017

Left by Workawayer (Luis) for host

My two weeks at Natalies passed by so fast. There is always something to do in the house, or some place to explore in this amazing city!
The work can be pretty hard, but nevertheless it is fun if you don't expect to just hang out. There are a lot of small things to do as well, so there will be something for you to do.
Before and after work… read more you'll have good meals with the family and have enough time in the afternoon and evening to explore Valparaíso.
A bit annoying is, that there are no keys for you, so you'll always have to communicate that someone is around to open you. But there are no more keys at the moment so ..
All in all I had a good stay, with interesting conversations, new perspectives and a very good first workaway experience.

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Very good
)

23/08/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Lars)

So, thanks to your great teaching I have learned to weld. And I am using my new skill. This is really cool. Thank you so much. ;)
You have been a cool visitor and you have done a great job.
And, I hope some day you will come back to see the new bathroom completed. And if you stay long enough we can start building a new project.
Thank you so much… read more for everything. Enjoy your meditation and life. And come back when ever you wish to.

(Excellent
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18/05/2017

Left by Workawayer (Lars) for host

I enjoyed almost 3 weeks of working with Natalie doing mostly welding and soldering of cobber pipes. Then I took a trip for some weeks and came back another few days to finish my work ;)

There are a great variety of stuff to be done in this incredible home. So just write your knowledge and desires and you will have an amazing project to do here… read more in the middle of Valparaíso!

If you enjoy alternative ways of living and good conversations - then this is an even better place for you.

The food is healthy and super delicious and if you get to try the pizza of Guillermo - you would never want to leave :)

Perdón por la demora Natalie, jaja!!
I stayed in Valparaiso two-three weeks in april-may and I really had a great experience.
I arrived in Valpraiso with a foot in very bad condition and Natalie was very helpful with tips to see the city without walking (or spending) too much. The food in the house is amazing, homecooked meals with love… read more :)
There's a lot of things to do in the house with great opportunities to learn new things because Natalie is always willing to show you and teach. I helped with the renovation to make a flat, learn to weld and solder and I am soo grateful for that, skills that'll stay with me for a lifetime I hope.
Muchísimas gracias, Danke schon and I hope to see you again soon.

(Excellent
)

18/05/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Daria)

Dear Daria.
We really enjoyed those few days with you. Thank you very much for your good energy and company.
Short and really nice.
Thank you for everything and I hope to see you again someday somewhere.
A hug
Natalie

(Excellent
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05/04/2017

Left by Workawayer (Daria) for host

I just spent 5 days with Natalie and her family but I had such a wonderful and heartwarming experience here!
Natalie is such an inspirational and strong woman who is doing all this work out of love and soul to create a wonderful home in the middle of Valparaiso.
This is not a place to use as a hostel, this is a place where your help each other… read more and where you can improve your skills. Natalie is always open to help but she gives you as well the possibility to express yourself.
I lived as a part of a family not as simply a workawayer, we helped each other and we had so much fun together in this short time.
Thank you for having me!
Hope to see you one day again!!
Ganz liebe Grüße aus Deutschland:)

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

05/04/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Robin)

Hi Robin.
So we really enjoyed the time you spent here. Everything was fun with you, working on the facade, preparing green juices or some of the events we went. Or perhaps I should say it was just nice having you around, you are a great person and a great helper. Thank you very much for spending some time with us.
I hope some day we will meet… read more again.

(Excellent
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21/12/2016

Left by Workawayer (Robin) for host

Natalie and her family are amazing hosts! Working on the house is really interesting and fun. Not only did I learn a lot, I also got to work on my Spanish. Natalie is super interesting to talk to and we had many long conversations at the house. Also she's an amazing cook!! I ate very well while I was there :) Thanks for everything Natalie, Rayen,… read more Guillermo, and the two best cats around Paz y Manchi!!! <3

Katya & Paul.
Thank you too for the nice time we spent while you stayed at our place. The two of you have been doing a very good job. Thank you very much.
I will always remember your happy face Katya, when you managed to drill through this really tough wood. Good job.
Good luck
Natalie

(Excellent
)

01/07/2016

Left by Workawayer (Paul & Jekaterina) for host

Natalie and her family are very warm and hospitable people, with whom we enjoyed our stay for two wonderful weeks. The atmosphere of the place is really charming, every peace of the house has a story behind which Natalie loves to share. Work was not too hard, and it also brings joy after finishing a project :) We hope that you will remember us… read more every time you pass through the platform that we were building, and we hope that in the end whole place will look really charming! Stay happy, stay safe and thank you for the wonderful time spent with you and your family! Katya & Paul

Lake. Thank you so much for the two weeks you spent with us.
We moved quite a lot of material and the space definitely changed a lot. So now we are finally using the room. Thank you so much. Of course there are details missing, but it looks so good now.
You are a very special person and surprised me many times in a very positive way. I am glad… read more you enjoyed the vegan food and conversations with you were always a pleasure. And you made me curious to get to know your city, so is now on the list of places I would love to visit some day.
And I hope you have the chance to visit us again. There will be a space for you.
Have good luck with your projects and see you soon.

(Excellent
)

08/02/2016

Left by Workawayer (Lake) for host

I spent a lovely two weeks with Natalie helping prepare the upstairs loft, putting up insulation and wood paneling and painting, as well as helping tackle some cleaning and organizing projects around the house. I enjoyed my daily conversations with Natalie and appreciated her willingness to let me participate in the decision-making process of the… read more project. She offered me delicious food, full of fresh fruits and vegetables, prepared with love every day. I also got to spend a little time with her daughter, partner, rabbit, and two cats. I felt at home right away. The house is nicely removed from the crowded tourist circuit but not hard to access or in a dangerous neighborhood. Be aware that you will probably not have a key to the house, though Natalie is incredibly flexible about making sure she is home and awake to let you in when you arrive. I am really thankful for the time I spent in Natalie’s house and plan to visit again the next time I pass through Valparaíso!

Thank you for those lovely days.
You really did a good job on the new room and it looked like you had fun experimenting the different techniques.
I hope you have a good time in Mexico and can keep drinking filtered water.
And yes I hope to see you in Lyon :)

(Excellent
)

24/04/2015

Left by Workawayer (Coline & Louise) for host

It's an excelent week who spend with Nathalie and her family! We learn about new way of Life, delicious vegetarian fresh food and healthcare culture! We discovered about work as well , naturals way of renovation! We share all food in good atmosphere and Nathalie is really kind and sweet :-) very good trip, Thank you so much, see you in Lyon :-)

Thank you Isabella. It has been very nice to have you here and I hope you can come back soon.
The room is build now and we are working on the facade, so I guess you would like to see it.
Have a great trip to the south and back north.

We loved staying with Natalie and taking care of the community center (Junta de vecinos), Natalie is very kind and will cook you delicious vegan food. We wish we could stay there for a longer time or to come back one day to see how is the house construction going. Natalie's projects are very inspiring and we wish the best for her and for her… read more family. Thanks for all Nat!

(Excellent
)

24/04/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Almuth)

Thank you so much for all those nice days ... your great vegan food and a very special thank for sharing your vegan mousse au chocolate with us. It has become my favorite.

(Excellent
)

18/12/2014

Left by Workawayer (Almuth) for host

Thank you for the great six weeks we had together and for supporting me in Valparaiso and the rest of my journey. Sorrz, that my bread receipt did not work out, but I will come back in january!

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

03/03/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Timotheus & Ann-Sophie)

Thank you too for the great time together and for your creativity. Yes, everything you build is working perfectly and we are using it a lot.
I hope you are healthy and happy.

(Excellent
)

02/03/2015

Left by Workawayer (Timotheus & Ann-Sophie) for host

Thanks alot for the great time we had. We felt part of the family, celebrating christmas/new year together :) Working was great fun, and very interesting! Hopefully everything works fine, what we have built? Good Luck, Happiness and Peace for you and Valparaiso!

Thank you for those nice days. You made a great job. Thank you very very much. I still feel I owe you some free days after so many hours you worked to make the warm water connection work.
I'm so happy we are now using warm water heated by the sun.
The windows are perfect, so everybody will have a chance to admire them once we have them… read more installed in their place.
Have a wonderful time.
Thanks.

I have throughly enjoyed my time with Natalie and her family while studying abroad. The experience has taught me a great deal about Chilean culture, the enviroment, volunteer work, and has improved my Spanish. Most importantly, the 5 months I have spent working in Cerro Cordillera has put me in contact with artists, radio hosts, political candidates, carabineros, natural builders, other Workawayers, and many other porteños. It was a pleasure helping and learning. I cannot speak for the comfort of volunteer acomadations (I stayed with a Chilean host family in Viña del Mar) but they seem cozy and the food is delicious. Thank you Natalie. I hope to stop by soon in the next week to check on you and the garden!

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

15/10/2013

Left by host for Workawayer (Grant)

Thanks for your help. We'll sure remember you.
When ever I go to the recycling point I'll remember your helping hand.
Also you've become famous in the radio and virtual diary. Wow.
Thanks a lot.

(Excellent
)

10/12/2013

Left by host for Workawayer (angie & Mathieu)

Thank you very much for your visit and for painting, planting, cleaning and clay work. I really enjoyed these days.
Have a nice time in the south. I hope you found the nature you were looking for and perhaps a chance to fish.

(Excellent
)

14/10/2013

Left by Workawayer (Nicolas & Carmen) for host

Thank you Natalie for the great time spent with you and your lovely family.
We have enjoyed these 2 weeks in Valpo. We felt like at home.
Nice experience, hope the windows we've worked on will find their place in the new part of the house.

Hope to see you soon.
Hugs and kisses to all family and tickles to the ears to Manchita,
Carmen &… read more Nicolas

You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.

(Excellent
)

14/10/2013

Left by host for Workawayer (Nicolas & Carmen)

Thank you for the great time, work, fun, english lessons, foto sessions, breakfast, kayak, ... We miss you. You're welcome back any time.